I have been thinking about fishermen this week. Every day and every night, I have watched the fishing trawlers glide soundlessly back and forth searching for their catch. No matter the state of the ocean or the weather temperature, these working vessels and the people who run them go about their business.  

There have also been several television shows mentioning fishing, noting the passion that fisher people have for their occupation or their avocation. Then there is this past Sunday’s gospel in which Jesus goes to the Sea of Galilee to call His disciples. Why did He decide to ask these men, these hard-working but probably not highly educated men to “take up His yoke” and “Come Follow Me”? 

In the time of Jesus, boys and girls (to some extent) would have received an education to age 13. After this, the girls would return to the home to continue their tasks. The boys would enter the family business (farming, carpentry, fishing, etc). This education would center around the Torah and was the primary responsibility of the father of the family. It required a lot of memorizations. Some young men might have been asked to continue their learning at the synagogue progressing through several levels of learning. A few might have been asked by a Rabbi to “Come Follow Me”.  

Jesus was not the first to use this phrase, so the disciples would have known the implications of these words. Rabbis were itinerant preachers, traveling around the area to towns and villages sharing their teachings and gathering followers. Rabbis developed a set of core beliefs that were referred to as their “yoke”. For Jesus, that yoke was love of God and others. 

Since the men that Jesus called to be His disciples were at work and not currently following another rabbi, we know that they were not among those more educated men who had spent years learning in the Temple. So, why did Jesus pick them? 

This is conjecture on my part, but perhaps He chose them because of their passion for their trade, their willingness to take on hard work in all types of weather and in the face of danger. They took on the yoke that Christ asked of them and wrought a miracle beyond description. Think about it-twelve diverse, not formally educated men put down their nets at the request of a man who they had just met, and they followed Him. He asked them to perform miracles, travel with minimal resources and spread the word of His teachings throughout the world-and they did! 

God loves you unconditionally! 

Terri